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Tony sat back, folding his arms and studying the fraternal twins in front of him.
‘So you were the ones who leaked the Siberia footage.’
The redhead stood up. Shauna, Tony remembered her name was. ‘That was me, I’m afraid, but I was only acting under pa’s orders. No defence, I know, but we’ve taken to trusting pa’s judgement on issues such as these.’ She sat back down.
Tony’s eyes narrowed. He didn’t know if this “pa” was their father, grandfather or some other male authority figure. Still, they’d come clean to him pretty quickly. ‘Why?’ Tony asked.
The sisters looked at each other.
The brunette – Sharee – nodded to her sister. ‘I suppose we better start at the beginning.’ She folded her hands on the table. ‘Have you ever heard of Dr. Indiana Jones, Dr. Stark?’
‘No,’ Tony said.
‘Hardly surprising,’ Sharee said. ‘He was an eminent archaeologist who operated most notably in the 30s and 40s and specialised in artefacts of the occult. But don’t think of him as a stale academic. I’d actually think of him as the original badass. You would have heard that Hitler was somewhat obsessed with artefacts of the occult. Prior to invading Poland, he tried to gather as many of them as he possibly could.’
Shauna nodded. ‘This threw the Nazis into conflict with Jones quite frequently, especially given their...methods. Due to the results of these conflicts, Jones earned the nickname, albeit rarely used, of The Nazi Culler.’
Intrigued, Tony pulled his phone out of his pocket. Shauna shelled off a series of numbers and, following her cue, he found the highly classified FBI file on the man in question. Yes, he had really existed. Yes, he had made a bit of a habit of killing off Nazis both before and during World War II, but more out of self-preservation than any sort of patriotism. And, yes, he was codenamed “The Nazi Culler”.
The most interesting part was his kill count. Despite the fact that this guy had been acting out of protection – either of himself or of the people around him – he had knocked off a considerable number of Nazi soldiers before the war had even begun. If anyone needed evidence that Hitler was batshit crazy, that was it. Even back in the 40s, they’d known they had far more men than Hitler had left.
‘Interesting that I’ve never heard of this guy before,’ Tony mused.
‘Well,’ Sharee shrugged in a whata-ya-gonna-do manner, ‘there are those who do the work and those who take the credit.’
Tony was more familiar with that than he’d like. ‘Why is this still classified?’
‘Well, we said he was a specialist in the occult,’ Shauna said. ‘The same could be said for his father, who spent his whole life looking for the Holy Grail. In 1938, with the interference of the Nazis and a “good old boy’s club” type, they found out. But this rich white tosser decided to force Jones into the temple that held the Grail by shooting his father at point blank range. The only way to save the older Jones was to get the Grail and it was surrounded by a lot of duds. Indiana Jones had to drink from the Grail to be sure it was the real one.’
Tony looked up at them, alarmed. ‘He’s still alive?’
‘Very much so,’ Sharee said. ‘And he doesn’t look a day over 39.’ She pointed to Tony’s phone. ‘He’s had children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. To us, Indiana Jones is pa.’
***
Wanda whimpered and struggled against the straight-jacket holding her hands down.
She looked across and through her cell bars. The man with brown hair, the bullwhip, and the battered fedora sat outside her cell watching her dispassionately. She glared at him through her tears. She’d encountered resistance to her powers but never someone who could cut right through it and strike her in the face. She’d never faced off against a bullwhip before and she hadn’t expected him to smack her in the face with it when she’d sent him into his worst nightmare. He was currently drinking from some old-fashioned drinking flask like you saw in movies set in ancient times.
‘What is that?’ she demanded.
‘Water from the Fountain of Youth,’ he answered almost carelessly. ‘Its normal function is a bit redundant on me but it also works quite well in healing telepathic damage done to the brain, among other things. I don’t know what your bastardised power is really capable of, but I know it has long lasting effects on the people you hit. I thought I’d treat it before it actually became a problem.’
Wanda struggled against the jacket. ‘Let me out of this!’
‘Nope.’ He took another swig from the container. ‘You stay in that jacket and in that collar and don’t hurt anyone else. Then you can stand before a jury of peers, if Sokovia allows you that – I don’t know much about their laws to be honest – and let them decide what happens to you.’
‘That’s not fair!’ Wanda insisted, tears rolling down her cheeks.
The man shrugged and stood up. ‘Life is unfair.’
***
‘This is incredible,’ Rhodey murmured as he went over the data on Jones. ‘And this guy’s been completely removed from the records apart from this?’ He looked over at Tony. ‘Why?’
‘1950s,’ Tony said. ‘S.H.I.E.L.D. rises up and Carter starts...collecting enhanced. Somebody brings up the Nazi Culler and Carter insists he doesn’t exist. He never existed and he’s just a myth created to usurp Captain America. The rest of the American Intelligence system sees a golden opportunity. Jones becomes their ace up the sleeve. Every piece of paper proving his existence goes: his birth records, his family records, his employment history, his military record, everything. The paper trail of Indiana Jones was obliterated.’
‘Jones was okay with this?’
‘I don’t imagine he was fully, but he understood the reasons. And he had some sweet compensation. A salary ten times what he made as an archaeologist, a hilltop mansion which was officially a federal property which was later...sold to one Dr. Dennis Pertinicle of Yale University – Shauna and Sharee’s father – and the right to keep any artefacts he found providing they weren’t liable to explode and wipe out the city without warning.’
‘And security for himself and his family from S.H.I.E.L.D.’
‘That too.’
Rhodey chuckled. ‘So why did he release those tapes?’
‘Because he’s an immortal and an archaeologist,’ Tony said. ‘He knows that Rogers was too big for his boots and the only way to cut him down to size was to show the world who he really was; what he was liable to do if it suited him. By having the world condemning him for what he did that day, both legally and morally, Jones is beginning a process that should have been started ages ago.’
FRIDAY finished the statement. ‘He’s giving Rogers a harsh reminder that he’s just a fallible human being.’
***
Sharee hopped down and walked over to where her great-grandfather was watching Rogers and his remaining cohort from a distance. ‘Hi, pa.’
‘Hey, Sharee.’ He didn’t even turn.
Sharee pulled out her own binoculars and looked through them, seeking out the group. ‘So, Wilson, Lang, and Barton have left? Guess we know who got lied to then.’
‘Yup,’ Indy said. ‘Rogers certainly likes to play the victim, but those tapes threw that flat on its face. Lang got disillusioned and turned himself in to the nearest US embassy, same with Wilson. Barton yelled a bunch of accusations and took off. Apparently, he’s got a family that Rogers tore him away from.’
Sharee scoffed. ‘Aw, come on! He made his own decision.’ She lowered the binoculars. ‘So what about Little Red Riding Witch?’
Indy smirked. ‘Apparently, they’re not too concerned at not hearing from her.’ His lips did a kind of complicated frown. ‘I didn’t exactly appreciate the pit-of-snakes vision she gave me.’
‘It was damn stupid doing that to you,’ Sharee remarked. ‘I wasn’t surprised to hear she got whiplash to the face as a result.’
Indy chuckled. They were both silent for a moment as they watched Rogers and Romanoff loiter around in that cheap motel room.
‘How’s Stark doing?’ Indy asked.
‘Pretty good, actually,’ Sharee said. ‘He got our reasoning. However, he told me something that gave me cause for concern.’
‘Yeah?’
‘When he went through that portal in 2012, he saw an armada on the other side.’
Indy looked at his descendent. ‘That makes so much sense. You better get your butts into gear then.’
‘Yes, sir.’ Sharee threw him a mock salute. ‘But what say we get rid of the interlopers first?’
***
Steve didn’t know what happened.
Nat had been taken sentry. He’d suddenly felt a sharp sting in his arm. Before he could wake up fully and react to the situation, he’d been pulled under again. He woke up to find himself in a cell. His first thought went to Nat. He slammed into the glass barrier...and was promptly thrown back.
Steve tried again, with the same result.
A chuckle stopped his third attempt. ‘Haven’t you ever heard that doing the same thing twice and expecting a different result is the definition of insanity?’
The man that walked out was tall, dressed like a western matinée hero complete with the battered brown fedora on his head.
‘Who are you?’ Steve demanded.
‘Indiana Jones,’ the man said.
‘Where are the others?’
Jones shrugged. ‘Romanoff and Maximoff have been deported back to their home countries, Barton’s probably half-way back to his family, Wilson’s sitting in a cell awaiting trial, and Lang’s back in prison because he broke parole but he got a few years chopped off because he told us where to find you.’ He looked at Steve almost patronisingly. ‘Not very smart moving around in a circle like that.’
Steve couldn’t believe it. Scott had sold them out. Why would he do that? Steve looked up and watched Jones stroll in and lean against the other side of the barrier. With no desire for this guy to see him weak, Steve moved over, glaring at him. Unlike when he glared at other people, this guy looked bemused.
‘Why didn’t you face me when you broke into the motel room?’ Steve was certain he was calling the guy out for his cowardice. ‘Why wait until after I’m in a cell?’
But Jones smirked. ‘Well, with the contents of your body count, I had my doubts that you’d come quietly. And I wasn’t going to fight someone I knew to be far stronger than myself if I could avoid it. That would be stupid.’ He inclined his head, as if tempted to say something but then apparently decided to hold his tongue. ‘Normally, I’d just flounce off home about now. The reason I’m here is because of this piece of crap.’ He stepped back and pulled a slip of paper out of his pocket.
‘What’s that?’ Steve asked.
‘Your sorry excuse of an apology letter to Tony.’ Jones unfolded it.
‘That’s private!’ Steve insisted, but the barrier stopped him from trying to snatch it.
‘I can see why it’s private,’ Jones said. ‘It’s embarrassing. My grandson wrote a better apology letter for breaking a window when he was five.’ He looked at Steve. ‘I guess you’re wondering how I got my hands on the letter. Simple. I had Shauna release the tapes of Siberia – the assassination tape and the footage of the subsequent fight.’
Steve flinched.
‘Let’s just say the world isn’t on your side, and your globetrotting is being looked at with a whole new light. People are even saying there’s no way you could’ve done that on your own dime. You used Tony Stark’s money and resources to find the killer of his parents with no intention to bring him to justice.’
‘It wasn’t Bucky!’ Steve insisted.
Jones rolled his eyes. ‘Unlike you, I know when I’ve crossed a line. So while I went hunting Maximoff, I sent Shauna and Sharee to explain our reasons to Stark. We actually met face-to-face later on and he showed me this. He wanted to know if he might have been too harsh on you.’
Tony had wondered about that?
‘I didn’t think so,’ Jones said. ‘And this is why. We’ll start with your opening line. You start off with the assumption that Tony’s in a compound, but his other option is rattling around in a mansion by himself. What’s amazing is that you left him in Siberia, in a busted suit and with no way of knowing if help was coming, and you just assumed everything was hunky dory. The nearest settlement from that base is a two-hour drive in a snow-worthy vehicle. Being generous for that area, frostbite takes about thirty minutes to set in. And when frostbite sets in, you start losing your extremities. Added to the fact that you slammed a vibranium shield into his chest, which was significantly weak to begin with, with super-human strength and that guy’s in the lucky-to-be-alive category.’
‘He was fine when we left!’ Steve insisted.
‘You’re obviously unfamiliar with the effects of an adrenalin rush.’ Jones went back to the letter. ‘Next, “the Avengers are yours”? Besides you two, who did the Avengers consist of again? Romanoff, Barton, Maximoff, and Wilson were with you. Who was left for Tony? Oh, right! Rhodes, who’d been paralysed, and Vision.’ He cocked an eyebrow. ‘How does that translate to “the Avengers are yours”?’
Steve opened his mouth, trying to think of a way to rebut him.
Nothing came.
Jones nodded. ‘You said you were on your own since you were 18. Why don’t you pull the other one? I did a background check. Your mom died of TB when you were 18, yes, but you were immediately taken in by Barnes. He looked after you until he was drafted into the war and then you kept trying to enlist until Erskine spotted you. Comparatively, Tony’s parents died when he was 17. They were murdered and he was told that they died as a result of a car accident caused by Howard’s reckless driving. He was surrounded by sharks who only wanted his money and his only friend at that time was on an active tour of duty in the Middle East. Tony really was on his own until he met Hogan and Potts – or did you forget they existed?’
Again, Steve struggled to come up with an answer to that.
Jones glanced down at the letter again. ‘Your faith is in people? Sure...as long as they follow you around like good little soldiers, glue their lips to your ass, and do what you say without question.’
‘That’s not true!’ Steve insisted.
‘Really?’ Jones asked. ‘You telling me you didn’t feel like Barton, Wilson, and Lang leaving didn’t feel like a personal betrayal to you?’
Steve drew back.
Jones pressed on. ‘You telling me that your antagonism towards Stark had nothing to do with his constantly questioning your word? Especially when your plans were, quite frankly, stupid.’
Steve’s back went up. ‘Tony should have known to follow my orders! He’s not a team player.’
‘Follow your orders?’ Jones barked out a laugh. ‘That’s rich coming from you! Isn’t your entire career as Captain America based on disobeying orders? That first mission when you saved the Howlies, wasn’t that against orders? I seem to recall hearing a reputation for you amongst the brass as someone who constantly disobeyed orders he didn’t agree with. By that logic, you’re not a team player.’
‘That...that’s completely different!’
‘No, it isn’t. You can dish it out, but you can’t take it.’ Jones shook his head. ‘Next is the point of the parents. Okay, that’s one thing I’ll give you. At least you admitted that you didn’t tell Tony about them for your own selfish reasons, but you still managed to lie. You didn’t think you were sparing him. If you did, you would have at least told somebody else. But you didn’t. Wilson didn’t even know. Romanoff thought it’d get her out of trouble so she told us you didn’t tell him because you were afraid of how Tony would react.’ He paused. ‘More to the point, you were afraid Tony would pull his money and resources and then find Barnes first.’
Steve found himself hit in the face with yet another betrayed. ‘Why would Nat...?’
Jones scoffed again. ‘She’s a Black Widow, Rogers. Black Widows are trained to survive by any means necessary. They have no allegiances and expecting loyalty from them is stupid. If they think something benefits them, they will do it.’ He looked at the letter one last time before folding it up and putting it back in his pocket. ‘The Accords. I imagine you intended that to sound like you were offering out the proverbial olive branch but that’s not what I get from it. You know what I get from it.’ He looked him right in the eye. ‘I get, “you’re wrong, I’m right, and I’m waiting for you to understand that”.’
Jones turned his back on him.
‘The fact is that the Accords were a long time coming. No one can go around like you did without consequences knocking on the door.’
‘We’re heroes!’ Steve insisted. ‘We save people!’
Jones stopped at the door and turned. ‘You killed people. And then you ignored it. Bucharest, Johannesburg, Lagos. Everything you did, you did for yourselves. And it’s high time you learned that. You’re not a hero, Rogers. You’re a show pony that got too big for his boots. The world wants answers, and you can’t hide behind Tony Stark anymore.’
Jones walked out.